St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-11-05

Origin in England-Reducedt to Fine
Art-Acquaintance Their Stronghold.
The drummer occupies unique posi-
ton in our commercial system. MANY
attempts have been made to dislodge
him, but notwithstanding this he comes
up smiling and takes his place solic-
iting trade as careless and debonair
as if he was not at all connected With
the efforts made to destroy his calling
1t is fact now thoroughly understood
that no business can be successful with
out the drummer. Price lists, catalogues
and photographs have been sent out by
merchants to induce trade, without one
tenth of the result that has accompanied
the drummer's personal efforts. Printed
matter, through the multiplicity of print
ing presses, has become so abundant that
it attracts no attention whatever, and its
recipient does not even bestow a glance
upon it as he throws it into the waste
basket.
Every line of business nowadays has
its drummer, who, briefly speaking,
drums up trade for his house. The Gus
tom had its origin in England, where
Dickens, with his immortal pen, told of
! English commercial travellers and their
doings. A commercial dinner is yet one
| of the features at all the English notels,
where the festive knight of the gripsack
| presides and is held in much reverence.
| But Yankee drummers can give points
/ to their transatlantic cousins They beat
/ the world in point of sagacity, courage,
enterprise, worth and goaheadatveness,
and to the drummers of etfete monarch
! les can say with pride, There are no flies
/ on US"
| When drumming was first introduced
/ into this country, a commercial traveller
would start out with whole stock of
/ goods. He would only go to principal
cities and remain in them until it
all was disposed of. Country mer-
chants would then pay two visits to
town-in the spring and in the fall AS
the itinerant system of doing business
found favor, drummers gradually in
creased, and the frequency of their visits
made the stocks of goods they carried
| lighter and lighter, till samples have come
to be the only things representative of
the goods the drummer sells. In cases
where the bulky nature of the goods
forbids the drummer carrying samples
along, photographs that are true to
nature are by the drummer exhibited to
his customers in the various towns on his
route. Instead of the country merchant
making periodical visits to New York, he
| is posted on the latest style and buys of
the peripatetic drummer. He gets his
| news, gossip of the trade, and the latest
story from him as well.
Having outlined the method of trans
acting business in this country, the man
ufacturer drumming the wholesaler, the
wholesaler drumming the retailer, and the
retailer drumming the consumer, it must
not be thought that each drummer in his
respective class has picnic OF it in selling
his goods. Probably the man who origin
ally went about the country with his
stocks of goods could easily sell them.
But with an army of drummers travers-
ing the country from Portland, Me-, to
Portland, Ore, it is only the fellow who
commands attention, is diplomat in the
best sense of the term, is of unassailable
courage and indomitable will, is not
swerved from his purpose by any OBJ
stacle, is of skillful address, has persua-
sive eloquence and withal has discretion
when to leave his prey, and is shrewd
observer of human nature, and knows
how to play upon mems weakness and
foibles, that nowadays is the successful
drummer.
Drumming is now reduced to fine
art. Competition has done away with
friendship and overproduction has made
the drummer sell, when nine times out OF
ten the man he sells to don't. won't and
can't, without mighty effort, get rid OF
the goods he has just bought In many
lines of merchandise the point has been
reached where every day drummers stand
in line, two or three deep, awaiting their
turn to present their particular article.
Wholesale and many retail establishments
have now their buyer, whose duty 1t is to
resist the drummers opportunities and
buy only such goods as he can sell. or
course, buyers, as all-powerful individ-
uals, are diligently courted. Bribery
is often limited at, but the buyers, be it
to their credit said, are quite free from
this grave offense. They are mostly re-
cruited from the ranks of drummers,
and know the danger of accepting brides
to tempt them from the path of duty,
and know as we'll the value of courtesy
and kind word from a man in their
position.
They tell in the old days of the bene-
fits of whiskey or wine upon an obdu-
rate buyer. But with drumming as
fine art dissipation of any kind is out OF
the question. The drummer must tell
his story connectedly, tersely, briefly and
command the buyers attention by MS
silverv utterances. The merit OF the
goods he is Offering for sale has nothing
to do with his success. Goods are
judged by the salesmans manner OF
offering them. A drummer recently told
me that he could sell the dirt OFT the
streets, and when I doubted the asser-
ton, demonstrated the fact by taxing
some street refuse and wrapping 1t IN
tin foil, sold it before my eyes, as some
compound with big-sounding name
Acquaintance is everything with the
drummer. He should know the people
to whom he wishes to sell and the place
at which his goods sell. Beyond TINS
knowledge, friendship does not figure IN
business transactions. 1t is safe to say
that by many the drummer is not appre-
ciated. He is looked upon by some as D.